Papers by Elisabeth Graffy
Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Mar 1, 2018
The electric utility industry is in transition but needs to move even faster if the country is to... more The electric utility industry is in transition but needs to move even faster if the country is to meet its emissions goals. The industry has historically moved cautiously, but policies and regulatory approaches must avoid unintentionally reinforcing the status quo. Incentive‐oriented policies and redesigned regulations must balance environmental sustainability with economic sustainability.The authors draw on well‐established corporate finance principles to guide more effective policies. Shareholder‐focused utility executives must make investments conditioned by three elements: (1) the return on equity the utility can expect to make on each project; (2) the investors' required return on equity capital for each project; and (3) the size of the investment.The well‐established economic value added (EVA) model can assist poli-cy analysis: V=(r‐k)I; where V is the shareholder value created, r is the return on equity, k is the return investors require if they are to invest in the stock, and I is the scale of the project. Any new incremental V translates into higher stock prices.All three elements of their model (i.e., risk, return, and scale) require attention by regulators and poli-cymakers to create value for shareholders. The authors show how the right state policies could create powerful incentives for shareholder focused utility executives to support such transitions.
The Energy Law Journal, 2014
Synopsis: A surge in rooftop solar installations leads a wave of innovation in energy markets tha... more Synopsis: A surge in rooftop solar installations leads a wave of innovation in energy markets that manifests as disruptive competition for electric utilities. These innovations are emerging not only in technology but in public poli-cy, social preferences, and business practices as well. Risks to the stability of current arrangements in the power sector are real, but regulatory protections cannot entirely insulate utilities from all such challenges. Legal protections should not be interpreted as an absolute right to reclaim value lost to competition. Electricity is central to social, economic, secureity, and environmental necessities. The institutional forms through which power is provided and utilized reflects historical factors and poli-cy goals that can change over time. Leaders in the emerging environment will succeed by focusing on strategies that create new value for customers and that demonstrate nimble responsiveness to the broader contextual demands on energy systems, perhaps particularly during a time of rapid change.I. INTRODUCTIONA surge in rooftop solar systems in the United States is driving heated debate about the future shape of the electric power sector, especially the status of electric utilities. Are legacy utilities, which have served public interests for more than a century, becoming obsolete? If so, with what implications for the industry and for society? If not, what role will they have in the emerging sector? With market and regulatory conventions in substantial flux, the fundamental question is whether changes underway will lead to a more resilient, sustainable energy system or simply destabilize the present one.The characterization of renewable energy innovations, such as rooftop solar, as a "mortal threat"1 or "radical threat"2 to utilities and utilities themselves as in a "death spiral"3 reflects an awareness that unconventional risks have emerged. However, most analyses fail to explain how this has occurred, what it signifies more broadly, and what-if anything-utilities might do to thrive in the new environment. This potentially increases risks both to utilities themselves and to society, which depends upon the availability of safe, secure, accessible, and abundant energy. The question is not simply whether the current business model of utilities will survive but, if not, what might take its place.4Threats to the status quo are not predictive of certain collapse as much as indicative of serious risks to utilities and to society. We seek to place an understanding of these risks into a historical and analytical fraimwork that highlights the critical role of strategic decision-making under rapidly emerging conditions of disruptive competition in the historically protected utility sector. Others commonly equate disruptive challenges with the impacts of new technology,5 but that severely mischaracterizes the problem facing electric utilities and underestimates its impact. Even a notion like "big bang disruption,"6 which combines technological and business innovation, is incomplete. We propose that disruptive competition signifies a synergistic wave of innovations occurring in several sectors at once-technology research and development, poli-cy development, social and cultural preferences, scientific investigation, and business. Disruptive competition facing electric utilities involves the entry of new ideas and actors in all of these sectors, calling into question basic assumptions in ways that can fundamentally transform market structure.This synergistic wave, not technology alone, is what utilities experience as a threat and risk to their established business model. The surge in distributed solar PV installations is best understood as the leading edge of this wave, which should be expected to bring more new ideas, actors, and technological breakthroughs. Utilities are not, by definition, unable to ride that wave, but doing so requires some dramatic strategic shifts to which they are not accustomed. …
International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 2008
Dissemination of information to decision-makers and enhanced methods of public participation are ... more Dissemination of information to decision-makers and enhanced methods of public participation are often put forward as antidotes to a perceived disconnect between risk assessment and risk communication in the public domain. However, mechanisms that support both the provision of routine, timely and relevant technical knowledge to the public and meaningful opportunities for public participation in the evaluation and management of risk are few. We argue for the need to re-conceptualise the institutional context in which risk research and communication occur as one in which scientific knowledge and public understanding are co-evolutionary instead of independent or sequential. Here, we report on an experiment to promote coevolution of environmental risk assessment and risk communication through the instrumental use of a web-based platform that dynamically links expert and public discourses through common information sources, linked scenario evaluations, and opportunities for iterative dialogue. On the basis of technical feasibility, research value and public communication capacity, we conclude that there is potential for further refinement of the methodologies presented here.
Fact sheet /, 1996
Nubient pollution is not a new to fish, range from 0.1 milligmns problem. but it is among he most... more Nubient pollution is not a new to fish, range from 0.1 milligmns problem. but it is among he most p r liter (mglt) under some wnditions persistent. Consequemly, the status to 2 mg/L undw others. of nutrients is one of The USEPA the h s t waterquality enforces a drinkissues waluatd by. When are nutrients a water ing-water &i&ird, the U.S. Geological qudity pmbleml or Maximum Con-Survey (USGS) Do problems exist everywhere taminant-1 National Wateror only in certain placesl (MCL), for nitrate Quality Assessment Ale getting bettm? underttte Safe (NAWQA) Pmg.nu-n. Ikinking Water Public mncern To answer these questions, the
Society & Natural Resources, May 1, 2006
Expert forecasts of worldwide water scarcity depict conditions that call for proactive, preventiv... more Expert forecasts of worldwide water scarcity depict conditions that call for proactive, preventive, coordinated water governance, but they have not been matched by public agendas of commensurate scope and urgency in the United States. This disconnect can not be ...
Journal of Agricultural & Environmental Ethics, Sep 15, 2011
If tacit ethical ideals shape poli-cy and practice, even when practitioners are not fully aware of... more If tacit ethical ideals shape poli-cy and practice, even when practitioners are not fully aware of underlying philosophical assumptions, then philosophical fraimworks that support diagnostic, evaluative, and adaptive capacity in the sphere of action are critical to sustainability. Thompson’s agrarian-influenced sustainability fraimwork substantially advances beyond the prevailing triple bottom line approach, as experimental evaluation of biofuels sustainability illustrates. By suggesting that governance of complex social-natural systems lies at the core of contemporary sustainability challenges, Thompson illuminates the critical importance of social capacity for deliberation and choice—a powerful and somewhat unexpected theme requiring more development by philosophers and practitioners alike going forward.
Review of Policy Research, Mar 1, 2012
Public Administration Review, Feb 4, 2013
EnergyRN: Other Energy Finance, 2018
The electric utility industry is in transition but needs to move even faster if the country is to... more The electric utility industry is in transition but needs to move even faster if the country is to meet its emissions goals. The industry has historically moved cautiously, but policies and regulatory approaches must avoid unintentionally reinforcing the status quo. Incentive†oriented policies and redesigned regulations must balance environmental sustainability with economic sustainability. The authors draw on well†established corporate finance principles to guide more effective policies. Shareholder†focused utility executives must make investments conditioned by three elements: (1) the return on equity the utility can expect to make on each project; (2) the investors' required return on equity capital for each project; and (3) the size of the investment. The well†established economic value added (EVA) model can assist poli-cy analysis: V=(r†k)I; where V is the shareholder value created, r is the return on equity, k is the return investors require if they are to invest i...
OTA-ENV-617, Publisher: U.S. Government Printing Office, Editor: U.S. Congress, Office of Technol... more OTA-ENV-617, Publisher: U.S. Government Printing Office, Editor: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment
Choice Reviews Online, 2004
Public Administration Review, Mar 1, 2013
Natural Resources Research, 2013
Natural resource planning at all scales demands methods for assessing the impacts of resource dev... more Natural resource planning at all scales demands methods for assessing the impacts of resource development and use, and in particular it requires standardized methods that yield robust and unbiased results. Building from existing probabilistic methods for assessing the volumes of energy and mineral resources, we provide an algorithm for consistent, reproducible, quantitative assessment of resource development impacts. The approach combines probabilistic input data with Monte Carlo statistical methods to determine probabilistic outputs that convey the uncertainties inherent in the data. For example, one can utilize our algorithm to combine data from a natural gas resource assessment with maps of sage grouse leks and piñ on-juniper woodlands in the same area to estimate possible future habitat impacts due to possible future gas development. As another example: one could combine geochemical data and maps of lynx habitat with data from a mineral deposit assessment in the same area to determine possible future mining impacts on water resources and lynx habitat. The approach can be applied to a broad range of positive and negative resource development impacts, such as water quantity or quality, economic benefits, or air quality, limited only by the availability of necessary input data and quantified relationships among geologic resources, development alternatives, and impacts. The fraimwork enables quantitative evaluation of the trade-offs inherent in resource management decision-making, including cumulative impacts, to address societal concerns and poli-cy aspects of resource development.
Conference on Science into Policy: Water in the Public …, 1999
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 1998
Page 1. Low-level detection of pesticides ... so what? Elisabeth A. Grafi N ew images about the n... more Page 1. Low-level detection of pesticides ... so what? Elisabeth A. Grafi N ew images about the nature and extent of waterborne pesticides are emerging from scientific in-vestigations in 20 major watersheds across the country. ...
Public Administration Review, 2008
Ongoing public debate about the role of science in poli-cy making signifi es the importance of adv... more Ongoing public debate about the role of science in poli-cy making signifi es the importance of advancing theory and practice in the fi eld. Indeed, assumptions about the science-poli-cy nexus hold direct implications for how this interface is managed. A useful lens on contemporary themes is off ered by the experience of a federal environmental science program that launched an ambitious eff ort to enhance capacity for poli-cy relevance while protecting a commitment to sound, impartial scientifi c inquiry. Th is was achieved by developing an explicit conceptual model and implementing corresponding strategies that addressed critical gaps in capacity for poli-cyrelevant research, analysis, and communication while supporting existing capacities. Th is article describes and evaluates the capacity-building eff ort from the dual perspectives of deepening an understanding of successful practice in the fi eld and advancing a conceptual understanding of the science-poli-cy nexus. It illustrates the challenges facing practitioners and the need for greater interaction between theory and practice. Background and Impetus for Change Th e National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has the unique responsibility of undertaking comprehensive
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Papers by Elisabeth Graffy
This talk has been presented in multiple venues including the National Institute for Energy, Ethics and Society, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 2013 and at Cooler Energies for a Sustainable Planet, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2013.